Services
Two Day Couples Therapy Intensive
Two Day Couples Therapy Intensives
A Two Day Couples Therapy Intensive (also known as Marathon Couples Therapy) is a dynamic and effective alternative to traditional weekly sessions and a specialty area of Certified Gottman Therapist and Clinic Director Madonna Hirning. This approach provides you with the time and space you need to address your most painful and challenging issues as a couple and get your relationship back on track in a short but intense period of time.
Intensive couples therapy can be especially effective because it enables both of you to feel heard and understood in a safe environment and get to the heart of the problems you are experiencing a lot more quickly than if meeting week to week. Having the two full days to work through your issues can also create a better sense of “flow”. Madonna helps manage the intensity of the experience by pacing what is worked on and closely monitoring your physiological state whilst helping both of you learn how to manage your physiological distress and overwhelm.
Intensive Couples Therapy can be especially useful when you want to engage in Gottman Method Couples Therapy but live in an area without access to therapists trained in this method or if you or your partner have work or family commitments that make weekly therapy appointments difficult to attend.
During your intensive Madonna will work with you to:
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Help you learn to communicate in more effective and less damaging ways
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Enable you to talk about conflict areas in a calmer way to help you both feel more heard and understood
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Deepen your understanding of each other
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Strengthen your bond and leave you feeling more connected as a couple
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Improve your intimate connection
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Identify shared values and dreams
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Put mechanisms in place that will help safeguard the progress you have made and build ongoing connection
Prior to your intensive you will both complete a comprehensive assessment process via a series of detailed written questionnaires along with the online Gottman Connect Relationship Assessment – an online relationship assessment package developed by the Gottman Institute. This information will all help Madonna understand both of your individual histories and the history of your relationship as well as some of the main issues that have developed over time and bring you to couples therapy now.
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Following your intensive Madonna may recommend a few appointments either in person or online via Telehealth to help you consolidate what you have learnt and be able to implement the skills gained to new situations that may arise. Couples who have engaged in this process in the past have reported that they were able to process a range of unresolved issues, learn many new skills and are surprised with how much change was possible in a short space of time. The aim of Gottman Method Couples Therapy is ultimately to equip you both with the skills and understanding you need to be able to reconnect and continue to nurture your relationship and deal with new challenges and conflicts in a way that enables both of you to feel heard, respected and understood and to be able to make effective repairs when required.
Once you have made a decision to engage in a couples therapy intensive it is important that you both try to hit the pause button on any ongoing issues and tensions in the relationship knowing that you have taken an important step in creating a different kind of relationship. Booking in for a couples therapy intensive is a gesture of courage and commitment to explore new growth in your relationship.
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Cost
A Two Day Couples Therapy Intensive with Certified Gottman Therapist Madonna Hirning is $4600 which includes your full assessment process. An additional $500 applies for each weekend or Public Holiday day booked.
Frequently Asked Questions about The Two Day Couples Therapy Intensive
What is This and How is It Different From Weekly Therapy?
The 2 Day intensive is two full consecutive days of couples therapy with Certified Gottman Method Couples Therapist Madonna Hirning. Your full assessment is completed by writing documents and the Gottman Connect Relationship Assessment so Madonna goes into the two days with a lot of knowledge about your relationship and presenting issues.
This assessment process is continued in the first part of your time together as Madonna takes you through the Gottman Feedback Session where Madonna works with you to unpack the strengths and pain points in your relationship and helps you better understand the issues you are facing and together you formulate the goals for your time together. The remaining time across the two days is spent with Madonna helping you process your most difficult and painful issues as a couple whilst also learning the skills to be able to take this beyond the therapy room.
Is The Two Day Intensive The Same as The Art and Science of Love Workshop?
In short, No.
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The couples therapy intensive is two days of intensive couples therapy with me working just with the two of you specifically on the issues that have brought you to couples therapy - both helping you to have better conversations and tackle some of your hardest issues in a way you feel heard and understand by each other and at the same time you are also learning how to do that going forward.
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The workshop is not couples therapy in that I am unable to work with you on your specific issues - you will be attending as part of a group of couples and it is an information sharing and skills building workshop. Information is presented around the Gottman research and skills that will help you improve different aspects of your relationship and as we go you have an opportunity to practice these skills together. You don't need to share any personal details with the group. I am on hand to help you if you get stuck but am unable to act as your therapist given that you are in a group environment and I need to spread myself around all the couples, and also I haven't done the full assessment that is part of the couples therapy process to fully understand your issues as a couple.Workshop is more suitable for couples who are fairly stable but may have lost a bit of connection or want to improve their skills or manage conflict a bit better. Not good for couples in distress or experiencing infidelity or betrayal.
I Am Worried the Two Day Intensive Format Will Be Too Much for My Partner or for Myself, is This the Case?
This is a frequent concern however I have conducted therapy in this format many times with many couples and often with Neurodivergence in the mix and because I am working with just the two of you I can calibrate the pace and intensity to what you need and we can take breaks when needed.
What Makes the 2 Day Intensive Different From the Weekly Approach
Having two days together gives us time and flexibility. We are able to pace ourselves to take as long as we need on difficult or painful topics. Doing the couples therapy in a condensed way means we have followup topics with other topics that directly relate or logically flow on. Doing this without one or two weeks in between each topic or issue discussed adds both a depth and sense of flow to the work. Many couples come to the end of two days amazed at what has been achieved and many remark to me that they feel they could not have achieved that in a series of one or two hour sessions every week or so.